The fair's creative director, Cobi Labuschagne, told the Sunday Independent that they had wanted the opening night to be about celebrating the government's work, rather than attracting attention to an "overtly political work".

Ross Douglas, the fair's director, was quoted as saying that the work was not censored because of government pressure.

The painting depicts a kneeling miner with horns on his head.
He is being attacked by a dog Zuma is holding on a leash, while stepping on another dying miner's head.

A white man dressed as a matador stands over him, holding a South African flag as a cape and about to stab him with his sword.